Suffering in Sanctification Pt. 2

Paul states in 2 Thess 1:5 that, “This is the evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the Kingdom of God for which you are also suffering.” The Thessalonians are heralds to the faithfulness of God due to their faithfulness to the Gospel even in the midst of suffering. Paul understands that the Thessalonian church is being persecuted for the Kingdom of God and thus he encourages them by saying that God will repay with affliction those who have afflicted them (2 Thess. 1:6). So intimate is the relationship between the kingdom of God and the suffering of the people of God that Paul included the teaching that, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14.22) as part of his basic instruction of new Christians.^[1] Suffering and maturity in the Christian life are inherently connected in the teachings of the Apostles and in the teachings of Jesus. This is a teaching that has been affirmed throughout church history up until recently. Luther commented on this truth by saying,

“Therefore to destroy such works of ours as well as the old Adam in us, God overwhelms us with those things which move us to anger, with many sufferings which rouse us to impatience, and last of all, even with death and the abuse of the world. By means of these he seeks nothing else but to drive out of us anger, impatience, and unrest, and to perfect his own work in us, that is, his peace. Thus Isaiah 28:21 says, “He takes upon himself an alien work, that he may do his own proper work.” What does this mean? He sends us suffering and unrest to teach us to have patience and peace. He bids us die that he may make us live.^[2]

Today’s church has not only ignored this truth, but has taught plainly against it. We understand suffering to be a punishment for our sins, thus God pushing us away. It is understood that in the midst of suffering we should plead to God for deliverance and ask him for forgiveness for whatever it was that brought about the present agony. Our mentality is one that says, “tranquility of life equals favor with God.” A fallacious disposition such as this will deprive us from growing in our sanctification, and more so deprive God of the glory He deserves through our suffering. When read in its proper context the scriptures scream aloud the necessity of suffering, both in the New Testament and the Old. Peter makes the startling claim that unjust suffering is not to come as a surprise. This thought runs counter to modern sensibilities that consider suffering and hard times to be an abnormal state of life that should be avoided if at all possible. And if they can’t be avoided, they should be dealt with expeditiously so that “normal” life can resume as quickly as possible.^[3] Christ’s suffering, rejection, and execution normalize suffering for the Christian in this world. But to suffer because one is a Christian is at the same time to be blessed, because it marks one as belonging to God’s obedient followers, upon whom his Spirit rests. As Jesus himself taught, “Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you” (Luke 6:26) for such universal acclaim suggests that one has in some way compromised the testimony of God’s truth in order to please.^[4] The interpretation of suffering in our lives must be deduced directly with God working out his good pleasure, for any other interpretation is a contradiction to Scripture.

In 2 Thess. 1:11, Paul begins his prayer for the church by saying, “to this end we always pray for you…” Paul’s phrase to this end has no clear antecedent. The neuter pronoun “this” probably looks back to the preceding passage as a whole and the Thessalonians’ salvation and perseverance through persecution. The apparent disjunction between vv. 11–12 and what precedes is caused in part by a temporal shift. Verses 5–10 deal with God’s future judgment, while vv. 11–12 primarily return attention (as in vv. 3–4) back to the believers’ current Christian life.^[5] Thus in focusing on the current state of the believers Paul prays for them in vv. 11-12 by saying, “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The shocking reality of this prayer is that Paul never once prays that the Thessalonians would be delivered from their suffering, but that in the midst of their suffering they would be found worthy of His calling. We see this same understanding of the value of suffering in King David in Ps. 4:1: “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress.” David does not praise God for delivering him from his distress, but he praises him for giving him relief in the midst of his distress. We can only find relief in the midst of suffering when we are seeking to fulfill the duty of our suffering, which is bringing glory to God. The peace God gives us during suffering is not some esoteric knowledge that is imparted upon us in the midst of pain, but it is the yielding of self in faith to the omnipotent God. As believers we must study to adorn the cross rather then avoid it.

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[1]Gene L. Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians, The Pillar New Testament commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos, 2002). 285.

[2]Luther, “Treatise on Good Works, 1520,” LW 44, p. 77; cf. WA 6, p. 248

[3]Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005). 286.

[4]Ibid. 6

[5]D. Michael Martin, 1, 2 Thessalonians, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001). 216.

Suffering in Sanctification Pt. 1

I will seek to clarify the role that suffering has in sanctification, in that its not punishment from God, but it is a tool that God uses to purify us, thus progressing our sanctification. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 gives a great example of a church that is facing severe persecution that God is using to grow them in their Christian sanctification. It is unclear who the offenders are in 2 Thessalonians, but it is clear that the church is undergoing some type of suffering and persecution (1:5-6). We can see that the Thessalonian Church is a model for other churches on how to persevere in the midst of suffering. Paul makes this clear in v. 4 when he says, “As a result we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you are enduring.”^[1] The Thessalonians did not react to their persecutions the way we are naturally prone. Instead of blaming God or blaming each other for their problems they sought to appropriately subdue the situation so that they could properly submit it to the glorious Lord.

I believe suffering to be one of the most powerful tools God uses to bring about Christ-likeness in our sanctificational process. Sanctification, says the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q.35), is “the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.”^[2] At our regeneration we were made positionally righteous before the Father due to the imputed righteousness of Christ that comes by faith. Though practically we come before God still raggedy and sinful. Thus the regenerational aspect of our righteousness is punctiliar, and the sanctificational aspect is progressive. In the same way that we are saved by faith, it is faith that allows for the process of being set apart unto holiness.

‘But without faith it is impossible to please God’ (Heb. 11:6). We are saved by faith (Luke 7:50). We are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1). We live by faith (Gal. 2:20). We stand by faith (2 Cor. 1:24). We walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:7). We obey by faith (Rom. 1:5). Christ dwells in our hearts by faith (Eph. 3:17). We overcame the world by faith (1 John 5:4). The heart is purified by faith (Acts 15:9). All duties, for their right motive and end, depend upon it. No trials and afflictions can be patiently or profitably borne unless faith be in exercise. Our whole warfare can only be carried on and finished victoriously by faith (1 Tim. 6:12). All the gifts and graces of God are presented in the promises, and they can only be received and enjoyed by us in a way of believing. It is high worship to be strong in faith giving glory to God. In view of all this, we need not be surprised to read that we are ‘sanctified by faith.’^[3]

We know that it is not faith itself that sanctifies us but the object in which we put our faith. Paul applauds the Thessalonians in 2 Thess. 1:3-4 for their increasing faith in the midst of persecution, for he knows that suffering and persecution, if submitted to God in faith, develops and produces Christ-likeness. The theme of suffering as a proponent of sanctification is found throughout the Holy Scriptures. It is often referred to in the language of metal being refined through fire, “He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver”(Mal. 3:3). And again in Zach.13:9, “…I will refine them like silver is refined and will test them like gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer; I will say, ‘These are my people, and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.” In the same way as precious medals such as gold and silver are purified from its impurities through the refiners fire, metaphorically we are being purified through the fire of suffering. This process is necessary for us to grow closer to Christ, for we cannot become vessels for his glory as long as we are living in the sinful impurities of the flesh.

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[1]Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2006; 2006). 2 Th 1:4.

[2]J. I. Packer, Concise Theology : A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1995).

[3]Arthur Walkington Pink, The Doctrine of Sanctification. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2005). 174.

Sinners Communing With God: a relational juxtapose?

To be justified is to be declared righteous in the legal sense. This does not mean that we are made righteous in that we no longer sin, but that we are declared righteous solely on the basis of Christ work on the cross. “Justification is a legal term implying a clearing of one’s name, the winning of a favorable verdict, whether it be in a court of law, of public opinion, or of conscience. God’s justification is not for the righteous, but for the wicked. Hence justification is the judicial act of God whereby guilty sinners, who put their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, are declared righteous in His eyes and are freed from guilt and punishment.^[1]” It is clear from scripture that we all come into this world condemned, awaiting the wrath of God (John 3:36). God’s perfect righteousness is needed if we want to have fellowship with Him. But we have a problem, the problem is that we are guilty before our God (Nah. 1:3) and we have no righteousness of our own to present to God (Isa. 64:6). God being a holy and just God cannot fellowship with guilty sinners, thus something must happen for us to able to enter into the presence and have fellowship with God so that we might be saved. God cannot just look over or ignore the stench of sin, for if he was to do that he would not be just.

One aspect of our justification is the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. In the same way that we have all inherited Adams sinful nature at birth, we also receive Christ’s righteousness at our new birth. Imputation is applying the righteousness of Christ on our account, so that when we appear before the father we would be found clothed in the righteousness of Christ. It is because of this righteousness that we can be found innocent before God. The holy righteous judge must punish the guilty, thus Christ took the guilt of every sin that every believer has ever or will ever commit upon himself as he hung on the cross. God punished Christ as if he was the guilty party, and in doing so we received the righteousness of Christ on our account, thus being justified. There is not work that we could do to present ourselves before God that would be acceptable, we are only found acceptable because of the declaration of Christ righteousness that has been imputed to us. The sins of the believer are forgiven. “Through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by Him all that believe are justified from all things” (Acts 13:38, 39). “All the sins of the believer, past, present, and to come, were laid upon Christ and atoned for by Him. Although sins cannot be actually pardoned before they are actually committed yet their obligation to the curse of the law were virtually remitted at the Cross, antecedently to their actual commission.”^[2] It is the accomplished work of Christ on the cross that gives us full forgiveness of sins. The beautiful work that Christ did, in both his life and his death, was to accomplish everything the Father gave him to accomplish (John 17:4), in such a way that brings ultimate glory to God. Jesus did not come to pay a ransom to the devil for our souls, he did not come to provide an example of how to reach God, and he did not come to relinquish his holy and just attributes so that those attributes would not longer hinder our relationship with God. Jesus came to satisfy God’s justice, he came to prove that God is holy. Jesus walked into the courtroom of God and took our guilty sentence upon himself and was convicted, tried, sentenced and executed under the holy wrath of God. Thus expiating our guilt on the cross and declaring us legally righteous.

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^[1] Clarence Herbert Benson, Biblical Faith : Doctrines Every Christian Should Know, Biblical essentials series (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2003). 39.

Arthur Walkington Pink, The Doctrine of Justification (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2005).

Propitiation: the lost doctrine

When we consider what salvation is, we tend to think upon the things that make us feel comfortable and privileged. We love the doctrine of justification, and rightfully so, for there is few other truths that should give us such joy. We think about eternal life in heaven, walking down the street of gold, having no pain, no suffering and every tear will be wiped from our eyes. All this is a beautiful reality for those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, yet in the midst of our joyous hope have we forgotten why we are able to share these wonderful riches? The propitiatory work of Christ is, in my opinion, one of the most misunderstood doctrines with in the church today. The word propitiation does not occur in the Gospels, it is used to by Paul (Rom. 3:25), John (1 John 2:2) and the writer of Hebrews (Heb. 2:17), to explain the work Christ accomplished on the cross. Propitiation is translated from the Greek word ἱλαστήριον, which means, that which serves as an instrument for regaining the goodwill of a deity. Thus in terms of Christ work on the cross propitiation is understood as the turning aside of Gods wrath. The word expiation is often substituted for propitiation in some English translations of the Bible. “What is the difference? The difference is that expiation means only half of what propitiation means. Expiation is an action that has sin as its object; it denotes the covering, putting away or rubbing out of sin so that it no longer constitutes a barrier to friendly fellowship between man and God. Propitiation, however, in the Bible, denotes all that expiation means, and the pacifying of the wrath of God.”

We see that the propitiatory work of Christ in the Gospels is often referred to as “the Cup.” Jesus refers to this cup as an event that will occur when talking to his disciples in Matthew 20:22, Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink? They said to him, “We are able.”

What was this cup that the disciples were convinced they were able to drink from? The cup mention by Jesus is the same cup that caused Jesus to be grieved to the point of death in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mat. 26:38). Jesus prayed three times for this cup to be taken away, yet the Father knew that His cup of wrath must be completely poured out for there to be remission of sins. In the Garden of Eden God promised that if man sins against God’s word then they would surely die (Gen 2:17). Thus, ever since the Garden of Eden God has been patiently storing up His wrath against the sins of man so that God may be proven to be righteous, both as the just judge, and the loving justifier (Rom 3:26). God in his mercy has allowed man to live under the consequences of their sin, yet the full wrath of that sin God has stored away until the appropriate time. Jesus knew in the garden that the time for this cup to be emptied eminent, and the very thought of Gods complete cup of wrath being poured out on himself brought him to his knees in agony. Jesus would be the object of Gods holy wrath and fury against all the sins, of every believer, from the beginning of time.

It is often believed that Jesus’ prayer to the Father for another way of completing His will was prayed out of fear for his eminent torture of crucifixion. I argue that the physical torture was the last thing on the mind of Christ. It was the very thought of being, not only out of fellowship, but being the very object His Fathers wrath that drove Jesus to the ground in agony. The perfect fellowship the Son and the Father had enjoyed from eternity past was about to, not only be broken, but also be inverted into a cosmic display of hate. Jesus Christ received from God what all believers past, present and future deserved. He took upon himself the entire cup of the almighty’s wrath, so that we would not have to. On the cross Jesus was treated as if he was a murderer, a liar, a pervert, a rapist, as if he had committed every sin that every believer has ever or will ever commit. He took upon himself the guilt of everything that seeks to stain his eternal majesty. He did not just take a portion of Gods wrath, nor did it fall diluted upon his back, but he took the entire cup, every drop of Gods holy wrath. Thus being finished.

“We cannot escape the embarrassment of standing stark naked before God. It is no use for us to try to cover up like Adam and Eve in the garden. Our attempts at self-justification are as ineffectual as their fig leaves. We have to acknowledge our nakedness, see the divine substitute wearing our filthy rags instead of us, and allow him to clothe us with his own righteousness.” The cross was a juxtaposition of God’s holiness, wrath, love and glory all bound up in the person of Christ. It was on the cross that the divine transaction of wrath took place, the lamb died taking upon himself the wrath due to us. The propitiatory transaction was not contingent upon the actions of future individuals in whether or not they trust in Christ as savior, but it was finished upon the cross, thus Gods wrath being satisfied at the cross.

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^[1] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed.) (474). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

[2] JI Packer, ‘The Heart of the Gospel’ in In My Place Condemned He Stood p. 32

^[3] Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Mt 20:22). Biblical Studies Press.

[4] John Stott, The Cross of Christ, pg. 162